After 74-day struggle, Jayalalithaa loses battle with life (Fifth Lead)

The 68-year-old leader, who was also a top heroine of Tamil film industry before she joined politics full time, was declared dead by the Hospital which said the end came at 1130 pm.

Jayalalithaa inspired intense loyalty among film and political fans alike, and was widely known as “Amma”, which means “Mother” in the Tamil language.

Ms Jayalalithaa took over leadership of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in the 1980s after the death of its founder M.G. Ramachandran, an icon of Tamil politics.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is no longer alive. Her condition deteriorated after she suffered a cardiac arrest, day after hospital deemed her fit to go back to the party.

President, vice president, prime minister, ministers, Congress leaders and other parties’ leader condoled the death of popular Tamil leader.

Images on Indian news channels from across Chennai showed many men and women crying after her death was finally confirmed.

“One of India’s most charismatic and popular leaders, Jayalalithaa was a visionary and able administrator”, Pranab said. He announced a day’s mourning in his state.

In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said, “Deeply saddened at the passing away of Selvi Jayalalithaa”.

Such free gifts are commonly used by Indian political parties in courting voters, but her handouts were still criticized by some as wasteful pandering and unfair bribery. She is being cared for by a highly expert multidisciplinary team, and is now on extra-corporal life support. He has been the acting chief minister of the state since Jayalalithaa was hospitalised at Apollo on September 22. During her previous tenure she introduced many welfare schemes and the most prominent among them was “Amma Unavagam” which offered food for all people at a very low cost.

He further said the Chief Minister is now on extra-corporal support, which is the most advance support level. “May our Honourable Chief Minister’s soul rest in peace”. When MGR fell ill, she campaigned extensively for the party that won the 1984 election. This is the third time he is helming the state, acting as a stop-gap arrangement on earlier both occasions when Jayalalithaa was convicted in two separate corruption cases in 2003 and 2014.